Pawar, leader of the biggest ally of the Congress, also became the first former UPA minister to meet Modi.

Even as a government release said that the discussion was on the monsoons, a senior NCP leader said that the meeting also served as a signal to the Congress — NCP’s partner in Maharashtra government. The meeting comes at a time when the Congress has so far ignored the NCP’s pressure to replace Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.

The NCP-Congress combination in Maharashtra managed to bag just six out of 48 seats of the state, casting a major doubt on the prospect of the alliance in the upcoming poll.

“This meeting shows that Pawar has goodwill across political spectrum and the Congress should remember that,” said a senior NCP leader.